Zitten Out the Wold Year
Why, rain or sheen, or blow or snow,I zaid, if I could stand so's,I'd come, vor all a friend or foe,To sheaeke ye by the hand, so's;An' spend, wi' kinsvo'k near an' dear,A happy evenen, woonce a year,A-zot wi' me'thAvore the he'thTo zee the new year in, so's.
There's Jim an' Tom, a-grown the sizeO' men, girt lusty chaps, so's,An' Fanny wi' her sloo-black eyes,Her mother's very dap's, so's;An' little Bill, so brown's a nut,An' Poll a gigglen little slut,I hope will shootAnother vootThe year that's comen in, so's.
An' there, upon his mother's knee,So peaert do look about, so's,The little woone ov all, to zeeHis vu'st wold year goo out, so'sAn' zoo mid God bless all o's still,Gwain up or down along the hill,To meet in gleeAgeaen to zeeA happy new year in, so's.
The wold clock's han' do softly stealUp roun' the year's last hour, so's;Zoo let the han'-bells ring a peal,Lik' them a-hung in tow'r, so's.Here, here be two vor Tom, an' twoVor Fanny, an' a peaeir vor you;We'll meaeke em swing,An' meaeke em ring,The merry new year in, so's.
Tom, mind your time there; you be wrong.Come, let your bells all sound, so's:A little clwoser, Poll; ding, dong!There, now 'tis right all round, so's.The clock's a-striken twelve, d'ye hear?Ting, ting, ding, dong! Farewell, wold year!'Tis gone, 'tis gone!--Goo on, goo on,An' ring the new woone in, so's!
Words in this poem
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- peal v. i.
- To appeal. Spencer.
- ding v. t.
- To dash; to throw violently. [OE. dingen, dengen; akin to AS. dencgan to knock, Icel. dengja to beat, hammer, Sw. dänga, G. dengeln.]
- ting n.
- A sharp sound, as of a bell; a tinkling. [An imitative word. Cf. Tink.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Zitten Out the Wold Year is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect, Project Gutenberg ebook #21785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Barnes, Zitten Out the Wold Year, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect (1844–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/barnes-dorset/zitten-out-the-wold-year.html, id L02108.
Form and metre
Zitten Out the Wold Year is 45 lines in 5 stanzas of 9 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDDB, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCCDDB snowA · so'sB · foeA · so'sB · dearC · yearC · me'thD · he'thD · so'sB
- 2 ABABCCDDB sizeA · so'sB · eyesA · so'sB · nutC · slutC · shootD · vootD · so'sB
- 3 ABABCCAAB kneeA · so'sB · zeeA · so'sB · stillC · hillC · gleeA · zeeA · so'sB
- 4 ABABCCDDB stealA · so'sB · pealA · so'sB · twoC · youC · swingD · ringD · so'sB
- 5 ABABCCDDB wrongA · so'sB · dongA · so'sB · hearC · yearC · goneD · onD · so'sB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Why, rain or sheen, or blow or snow, | 8 | ········ |
| I zaid, if I could stand so's, | 7 | ······· |
| I'd come, vor all a friend or foe, | 8 | ········ |
| To sheaeke ye by the hand, so's; | 7 | ······· |
| An' spend, wi' kinsvo'k near an' dear, | 8 | ········ |
| A happy evenen, woonce a year, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| A-zot wi' me'th | 4 | ···· |
| Avore the he'th | 4 | ···· |
| To zee the new year in, so's. | 7 | ······· |
| There's Jim an' Tom, a-grown the size | 8 | ········ |
| O' men, girt lusty chaps, so's, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| An' Fanny wi' her sloo-black eyes, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her mother's very dap's, so's; | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| An' little Bill, so brown's a nut, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| An' Poll a gigglen little slut, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I hope will shoot | 4 | ···· |
| Another voot | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| The year that's comen in, so's. | 7 | ······· |
| An' there, upon his mother's knee, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So peaert do look about, so's, | 7 | ······· |
| The little woone ov all, to zee | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His vu'st wold year goo out, so's | 7 | ······· |
| An' zoo mid God bless all o's still, | 8 | ········ |
| Gwain up or down along the hill, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| To meet in glee | 4 | ···· |
| Ageaen to zee | 4 | ···· |
| A happy new year in, so's. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The wold clock's han' do softly steal | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Up roun' the year's last hour, so's; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Zoo let the han'-bells ring a peal, | 8 | ········ |
| Lik' them a-hung in tow'r, so's. | 7 | ······· |
| Here, here be two vor Tom, an' two | 8 | ········ |
| Vor Fanny, an' a peaeir vor you; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| We'll meaeke em swing, | 4 | ···· |
| An' meaeke em ring, | 4 | ···· |
| The merry new year in, so's. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Tom, mind your time there; you be wrong. | 8 | ········ |
| Come, let your bells all sound, so's: | 7 | ······· |
| A little clwoser, Poll; ding, dong! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There, now 'tis right all round, so's. | 7 | ······· |
| The clock's a-striken twelve, d'ye hear? | 8 | ········ |
| Ting, ting, ding, dong! Farewell, wold year! | 8 | ·····/·· |
| 'Tis gone, 'tis gone!-- | 4 | ···· |
| Goo on, goo on, | 4 | ···· |
| An' ring the new woone in, so's! | 7 | ······· |
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